Take it Up a Notch!
by Memory Rise
Summary: (Steampunk AU) Seeing your friends and family die at age ten is rough. For Eren, rough enough to cast him on the street to live homeless for 4 years. But when everyone's favorite four-eyed nerd happens to pass by him in an alley and drag him to the Underground, a haven for techies and gear geeks, he finds himself the only one capable of piloting a massive titan-fighting robot.
1. Parchment and Parched Men

**AN: Greetings readers. Welcome to my story.**

**I've always really liked the steampunk genre. So when my friend told me about her plans for a steampunk SNK AU, I was of course all for the idea. But then she sent me the plot structure.**

**I really liked it, but it wasn't my style. For one it was Eren x Fem!Levi. I hate genderbends. Like with a burning passion. *coughs*unlessitsjohannathemad*coughs* So I said, "guuuurrrl I wanna write this too tho" and she said "well you can" and I was like "rly" and she was like "rly" and so now we're writing mirrored versions of the same basic plot structure! And credit goes to her for the steampunk idea, the title, Eren's past (for the most part), and the Iron Titan. The rest is mine. I hope you enjoy~~~~**

**Btdubs, the link to her story is www. archiveofourown works/2398178/chapters/5301515 (without the spaces of course)**

**I highly recommend it.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Parchment and Parched Men<strong>

Thirsty. So... thirsty. Need water.

Eren opened his mouth to ask the brown-haired passerby for a drink, but his dry throat emitted nothing but a desperate rasp. The brunette shuffled by, pretending not to notice.

Water. Need water.

Eren groaned, just as raspy, and rubbed his throat. He coughed, sending just enough moisture up his throat to mumble a swear.

"God damn it..." he rasped. Hadn't he had enough bad luck in life? His family and friends murdered, being rejected from the military, the only way he could possibly avenge them. And now he was living like a street rat, _as_ a street rat. For three weeks now, he had been surviving, barely, off of scraps and rainwater. He was fourteen, but had the body of a malnourished ten year old. Of course, this was part of the reason he was rejected.

He saw another brunette walking down the alleyway, straight towards him. She was well dressed, with a poofy red dress down to her ankles, laced with what appeared to be white satin bows and a matching corset. She toted an umbrella, though it hadn't rained for three days. And her messy, most likely unbrushed brown hair was pulled carelessly back into an overflowing mess of brown by a single black clip and a pair of large square glasses pinning a couple tangled locks behind her ears.

Eren watched as she got closer, not feeling strong or motivated enough to beg for water. It hadn't worked all day, why would it work now?

But, to his surprise, the lady gasped and lifted the skirt of her dress to dash over to where he sat propped up against the brick wall. "Oh god, you poor thing! You must be parched!"

He swallowed, his mouth beginning to water at the sight of her pulling out a brown leather canteen and twisting the top open quickly. He opened his mouth as she poured it down his throat. The cool, usually tasteless liquid adapted an almost sweet, savory flavor as it ran across his palate, and he found himself grabbing the container and pouring the rest of the heavenly substance down his throat. Though he realized it must have been very rude, he couldn't help it. He hadn't had fresh water in four years.

"What's your name? Do you have a home?" The woman asked, a hand on her cheek with a concerned stare catching Eren's attention once the water was all gone. He shook his head.

"I am Eren. I got nowhere." He said. Grammar hadn't really been a concern of his since he became homeless and broke. The woman didn't seem to notice, that or she didn't mind.

"My name is Hanji Zoe. Come with me, I'll give you somewhere." She smiled, taking his hand and helping him up. She assisted him in limping down the street and through a narrow alleyway, stopping at a sewer cap at the end.

"Give me a sec," She said, dropping the umbrella along with his arm. He watched curiously as she lifted the skirt of her dress once more to stomp on the round metal disk seven times. Eren blinked. This woman was crazy.

But before he could snatch her pocketbook and run, the sewer cap sank lower into the ground and shakily slid to the side with a loud continuos cranking noise, stopping only to reveal a rusted ladder leading down into the dark hole.

"What the-"

"Just go down the ladder, I promise you won't regret it." She said, ushering him towards the hole. He shook his head.

"Uh, n-no thanks, I'm not really a big fan of dark, ominous holes..." he said, leaning back onto her hands so his feet skid on the ground. It would've been painful, if four years without shoes hadn't given him almost bulletproof callouses. Eventually he gave in and scrambled down the ladder. He had expected a sewer, but instead he found a dark room, lit only by a single lantern hanging on the furthest wall, with what appeared like an old rickety elevator in the corner.

"Just wait there for me," Haji called from outside, hopping down in the hole. But her skirt frame was too big, so only her legs made it through. Eren blushed a bit at the sight of her knee-length bloomers as she kicked around. After a bit of struggle, she stopped kicking and began to mutter unintelligibly. Then, suddenly she dropped down through the dress, as she had just untied her corset and allowed herself to fall through it.

Eren blinked, staring at what looked like the top half of a pair of old, oil-stained overalls. He had though at first that this woman was of the upper class, based on her attire, but now he had no idea what to think as she ripped the silk bloomers off her legs and yanked the dress down with her. It collapsed on itself and fell into her arms, now that there was nobody in it.

"Sorry about that. Into the elevator you go." She said, shooing him towards the fenced door and sliding it open, now clad in, as Eren had inspected, a pair of old, oil-stained overalls atop an old, oil-stained white tank top. At least now her hair matched her attire.

"Umm, where are we going?" Eren asked as the elevator door slid closed again. Hanji smiled at him and pulled a wall-mounted lever, causing the elevator to lurch to a slow, unstable decent. "It's a little hard to explain. But you'll see when we get there." She said.

It grew dark in the small cramped space, until they passed by another lantern. The light left with it until they passed another, and then another. It went on like this until they reached the bottom.

"Here we are," Hanji said with an ear-wide grin, opening the elevator door. Eren's jaw dropped. Had he been living over this his entire life?

The interior of the room was massive, a huge copper dome with large suspended lighting systems. Various overall-clad men and women ran around, shouting orders and waving wrenches, screwdrivers, and other various appliances as others worked fixedly on various machines and metal structures. Over the sounds of shouting and talking and laughing were the distant, ever-present clanking noise that Eren imagined were made by large gears and cranks, but this was just the thought that came to him as he examined the large space with wide, awed eyes. There were robots, metal wings, even a section that appeared to house solely the creation and maintenance of 3-D Maneuver Gear. There were kitchen appliances, entertainment systems, people using tools to build new and improved tools. Mechanical arms, legs, fingers and eyeballs. There was even a metal swing set in one corner. Everything was either bronze, silver, or gold, and everyone was covered in bruises and oil splatters. The space gave off a warm auburn atmosphere. It was amazing.

"What place is this?" Eren said, awestruck as he slowly followed Hanji out of the elevator. Hanji laughed at his adorable expression and pulled him aside and towards a long hallway with doors on either side, like a hotel floor.

"You're in the Underground, kid. This is where everything in the kingdom that needs a wrench to fix was created." She told him. He looked up at her, still not quite able to believe it.

"But... how is something so...?"

"Where did you think 3DMG came from, kid?"

"Wow..."

"That was the Steam Room, where all the ideas we come up with here are built. You're on your way to see Erwin, the guy in charge. He was the genius behind the whole project. He'll give you a place to stay and maybe even a job if you qualify." She said as they arrived to a large set of metal double doors, with a gear for a handle.

Hanji knocked seven times. "Oi, Erwin. I got some fresh meat for ya." She said with a toothy grin. Eren gulped.

"Send him in. Then go report to Pixis with the details from your assignment." A deep, brassy voice replied. She nodded and turned the gear-knob, pushing the doors open and Eren inside.

"Good afternoon." A tall blonde man with thin blue eyes and his hair slicked back greeted him as the doors shut behind him. Eren swallowed.

"Hi. Umm... are you...?"

"Erwin Smith. Nice to meet you." The man stood from his chair and extended his hand over his polished wooden desk with a small smile. Eren took a timid step forward to shake it.

"Eren Jaeger. Umm, nice... to uh, meet you. Too." Eren suddenly began to feel nervous. Though he didn't know why. He wasn't being tested, wasn't being put on the spot. It was Erwin, and the judgmental aura he emitted.

"I'm guessing Hanji picked you off the street?" Erwin asked. Eren nodded, eyes still wide. Erwin chuckled and sat back down.

"You look like a deer who's spotted a lantern, Eren. Please relax. I'm just here to determine your job." Erwin said with a kind smile. Eren froze. Job? He'd never had a job before. He could never get one, no matter how many times he applied.

"Housing will be provided, don't fret." Erwin continued. "Do you have any special skills or interests?"

Eren shrugged. "Umm, I like machines, I guess." He said. The idea of gathering a pile of scrap metal and using it to create something able to function on its own had always fascinated him.

Erwin nodded. "Then we'll start you as an engineer tomorrow. I'll send a boy named Marco to fetch you in the morning. He'll tell you the rest from there." Erwin said, standing and turning around to look through a shelf on the bookcase behind him.

"B-but sir, I don't know nothin' about machines." Eren said, watching. Erwin shook his head and turned back around, holding out a single copper key. "Doesn't matter. Everyone has to learn eventually, right?" Erwin tossed the key to the frail brunette, who scrambled to catch it. He did, but just barely.

"Y-yes, sir"

* * *

><p>Eren closely examined the key he held. It was copper, with a round base and a jagged edge. The number "33A" was printed in what looked like black paint, just below a small hole. Probably for a keychain or something.<p>

He looked at the many levels of floors listed on the elevator. There were five floors, and Hanji had told him that he was in room three on the third floor in the A wing. According to her, A wing was boys only, B wing was girls only. Neither gender was allowed in the opposite wing, so Hanji couldn't escort him. He pressed the three button and braced himself against the railing as the small compartment began to descend. _So third floor meant third floor down_, he thought. He guessed that since they were below ground, floor listings worked opposite of usual.

When he finally arrived at room three, he stepped out of the elevator slowly and cautiously. He found himself at the end of a long, narrow hallway with dark green carpet floors and lanterns between every third door on the right. He walked down the narrow hallway to find that odd numbers were on the left, even on the right. He stopped in front of room three and took a deep breath. This was his first home in four years. He prayed it would remain so for a long time.

He unlocked and opened the door to a dark, metal interior. There was a bed (that looked extremely uncomfortable) in the farthest corner, and beside it a small metal table with a single lantern and what looked like an alarm clock. There was also a large mirror on the wall to the right of him, and a wooden table that stretched the length of it just below. Lastly, a tall metal closet in the corner to the left of him, whose doors hung open to reveal four empty metal shelves except for a single pair of neatly folded overalls on the third. Despite these shabby conditions, he smiled.

He was finally home.

**AN: Do you like it? I think I was a bit over-descriptive. But the thing I have the most problems with writing is always describing rooms and buildings and stuff like that. I tried my best to 'paint a picture in the reader's mind,' but I'm not sure if I did a good job or not.**

**You know what's weird to think about? How the way I imagine the setting of this story, like Eren's room or Erwin's office or the Steam Room, is most likely different from how you guys imagine it? Almost always you'll imagine it like somewhere you've been before. I read that in an article in a magazine once. Also, try thinking about something that no one else on the planet is thinking at this moment. Right now. Yup. I'm fucking with your mind.**

**I think about this stuff all the time. It's just weird to think about, you know? Anyway, I'll stop rambling and annoying you now.**

**Don't forget to check out the other version of this story!**

**www. archiveofourown works/2398178/chapters/5301515 **

**(the .org isn't working but you all should know the way to get to archive of our own)**

**Drop a review on your way out~~**

**Later, losers!**

**-TRG**


	2. Copper Aspirations

**AN: Heyyyy look at that four reviews already! WOO! I'm happy. So I'm gonna thank y'all ^^**

**Thanks to , KeketTheDestroyer, LWHxExpress, and MintyMintMints. yes hello Minty I see you there.**

**Anywhore I haz zee new chaptar now. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 2: Copper Aspirations**

Screaming. That's how Eren woke up that morning.

He shot up out of bed, his heart racing and his lungs gulping large, desperate breaths.

"Just... just a dream..." he mumbled, rubbing his eye with one hand. Suddenly, his door opened and a short raven-haired man walked in.

"Are you okay?" The man asked. Eren stared. He was pale, but muscular. Eren could see everything clearly, as he was shirtless and holding what Eren assumed to be his shirt in his right hand. He wore a pair of ripped and faded khaki overalls, with the top half hanging down over his waist. His thin gray eyes were staring straight at him, but Eren couldn't tell if they were concerned or judgemental. He wore his hair in an undercut, with a middle part that hung just over his eyebrows.

Eren swallowed and nodded. "I-I'm fine. How did you get in my room?"

"Picked the lock. Duh." The man said, as if Eren should have already known that. "Are you new? This room has been empty for ages." He said, a bit monotonous. He seemed irritated, yet not at the same time.

Eren nodded. "Yeah. I just got here yesterday."

"What's your name?"

"Umm, it's Eren. Eren Jaeger."

"Oh. Well you better hope you're good with machines, Eren, or else you're pretty much useless here." The man said, turning to exit again without bothering to shut the door behind him.

"Well." Eren mumbled to himself, standing and walking to the closet to get dressed for his first day of work.

A couple minutes after he had dressed and was now fiddling with the buttons on his chest pocket, a knock came from the door. Eren rushed to open it, eager for some sort of occupying task to cure his boredom.

A tallish boy with dark brown hair, freckles and big gray eyes stood, in overalls (big surprise), in his doorway.

"Are you Eren?" He asked, looking up from the small piece of paper he was holding. Eren nodded curtly.

"Yeah. That's me."

"I'm Marco. Welcome to the Underground." The boy said with a smile. Eren nodded and gave a small, slightly nervous smile back. "Thanks..."

"I'm here to show you the ropes." Marco said, stepping back a bit to give Eren space to exit his room. "Here, follow me."

Eren did as told, and soon he and Marco were in the Steam Room.

"You can have one of five jobs here." Marco explained, weaving through machinery and the overall-clad people working on them. He continued to explain, but Eren wasn't listening. He was too distracted by everything going on around him. How could he not be? It was a challenge just to keep Marco in sight as he wove through the lovely crowd. And he didn't stop until he ran straight into someone.

"Oi, watch it." The someone said. Eren looked up to see a tall brunette wearing a pair of brown leather goggles, an oil-stained tank top and a pair of oil-stained overalls, the straps hanging down over his waist to flaunt his muscles. He held a wrench and stood in front of a sparking pile of what appeared like scraps, but what Eren was sure in actuality was to be some sort of machine. Eren swallowed and took a quick step back. "Sorry, I didn't... I didn't see you."

A hand grabbed his shoulder, startling him a bit, but he turned to see it was just Marco, laughing and giving Eren a small shake.

"Eren, meet Jean. He's not a people person, but you'll warm up to him." Marco said. Jean scoffed. "Don't be so sure."

"So you're trying to be an engineer?" Marco said, smiling at Eren. Eren nodded a bit.

"Umm, yeah. I guess." He said.

Jean slid his goggles up to his forehead so he could look Eren up and down, pushing back his dusty brown bangs and revealing a pair of thin, irritated golden eyes and high cheek bones. "We don't need any clueless, twelve-year-old wannabe twerps as engineers." He snarled, putting his goggles back over his eyes and turning back to his sparking scrap pile. Marco elbowed him in the arm. "Jean, don't be an ass." He said. Jean chuckled a bit. "It's in my programming." He said with a smirk.

Eren frowned. "I'm fourteen, dumbass." He snapped. Marco and Jean both turned to face him, surprised by both his insult and his age.

"Fourteen?" Marco repeated, not quite able to believe it. Eren nodded, slowly and condescending.

"Yeah, fourteen. But being broke and homeless for four years tends to stunt your growth." He said, like it was obvious. Marco and Jean exchanged glances.

"My bad, then." Jean said with a small head tilt of acknowledgement. Marco took a deep breath and smiled again, adjusting on of the straps on his overalls and patting Eren on the shoulder again.

"Well, let's get started then." He said. Eren nodded, feeling a bit more confident than he had before.

* * *

><p>Eren groaned and sunk down further in his chair. Sasha and Connie ran around frantically, waving their arms and screaming about fire extinguishers and buckets of water as the flames engulfing the machine they had been attempting to fix grew larger.<p>

When Eren failed miserably at building machines, he was sent over to try fixing them on for size, and had met Sasha and Connie, the 'most talented mechanics in the kingdom,' according to Marco. Mechanics handled all the maintenance and preservation of the machinery the engineers created. The pair had been working on repairing a station wagon belonging to an important higher up who lived within Wall Sina. But for some reason, the second Eren touched the damn thing, it caught on fire.

Sasha screamed, a war cry of sorts, and vanquished the monstrous flames with her fire extinguisher, smothering it with the white fluff as Connie bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sorry..." Eren mumbled sheepishly. Sasha turned around, still panting heavily from her panicking, and smiled.

"Don't worry about it!" She said, sincerely forgiving. Though he could clearly tell she wasn't lying, he still felt awful.

She was a kind, pretty girl, with big caramel eyes and thick, well-managed brown hair pulled back into a ponytail with side bangs that hung over her right eye. She was endlessly kind, and endlessly hungry. The girl ate like a beast. Since Eren had met her, she had eaten her weight in mashed potatoes and apples. And Eren had only known her for about an hour.

Connie burst out laughing suddenly and patted Eren on the back. "Dude, that was hilarious!" He said. Eren grunted at his harder-than-necessary hits and arched his back a bit to ease the impact.

"Eheh... uh, what do you mean?"

"You just touched it and the thing caught on fire! You're not, like, secretly a fire wizard, right?" Connie asked with a grin, slinging his arm over Eren's shoulder. Eren tensed up a bit, unfamiliar with that type of contact.

"Umm... I don't think so." He said. Connie was Sasha's partner in crime, and a bit on the crazy side. He had a buzz cut, and big, droopy golden eyes. He wasn't very bright, but he knew his way around a toolbox. Marco said that whenever Connie was tested on his knowledge, he always failed, but he had never come across a machine that he couldn't fix.

Sasha lied down on the skateboard the two used to get underneath the car, biting a wrench between her teeth and rolling herself under.

"It looks like what you did was you bumped this bolt here... which probably loosened it up enough where it opened up this pipe, which must've started leaking gas... and then when the gas reached the engine pipe..." She continued to mumble to herself, tracing different pipes and extensions underneath the car. Then she twisted the top half of her body to give Eren a thumbs up.

"Looks like what happened wasn't your fault. We can give it another try, I mean-"

"Nonono!" Eren waved his hands frantically. "Umm, I think I'm good. I don't think I'd do very well with this anyway... I think I'll just go talk to Erwin about those, umm... other jobs..." He said, worming his way out from under Connie's arm and smiling shyly. He was about to head for the door, when it opened.

"Hey, guys, it's me... I have those new tools you... ordered..." Eren gaped when he saw who it was. The blonde in the doorway dropped the bag he was holding.

Eren took a shaky breath. "Armin?"

**AN: Dundundahhhhhhhhh and cliffhanger even though not really but cliffhanger yayyyyyy**

**I don't have much to say. Besides that of course. Except that I'm going to tryyyyyyy and get at least two chapters out a week. Expect Tuesdays and Fridays from now on. Just so I can get into a routine. Tuesdays might not always have updates due to different circumstances and shit but I'll definitely try and have a new chapter for you guys every Friday.**

**Anywhore, I hope you enjoyed! Drop a review on your way out, pretty please.**

**Later, losers**

**-TRG**


	3. If At First You Don't Succeed

**AN: lol nothing to say enjoy the chapter yayyyyy**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: If at First You Don't Succeed<strong>

The wall came crumbling down.

The heavy metallic stench of what could only be blood hung in the air. The screams of innocent people mixed with the deafening sound of giant footsteps. The titans were in.

Eren watched with wide eyes as a massive fragment of the wall flew in his direction. He couldn't move. He couldn't even cry for help. But help came anyway.

"Eren!" Armin's voice cried, and then suddenly the feeling of to small, weak hands shoved him forcefully out of the line of fire. And then a shriek as the monstrous boulder hit the ground. Right on top of his friend.

Eren felt tears welling up in his eyes. "A-Armin..." He muttered. And then his name was called again, this time from directly above him.

"Eren!" Mikasa screamed. Eren's head snapped in her direction. His blood ran cold.

She was kicking and screaming, desperately scratching at the giant, meaty hand wrapped around her comparatively small body. A titan had her in its grasp, and was lifting her slowly to its mouth.

"Mikasa..." He was too terrified to move. This couldn't be happening. The walls... they had held forever. Why now? Why... here?

"Why me...?" Eren whispered, tears spilling onto his cheeks as the titan's teeth closed on his sister's head. As Armin's blood seeped out from beneath the boulder. As the titans advanced further into the town of Shinganshina.

"Why...?" And once more as a pair of strong arms scooped him up and rushed him to safety.

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><p>Eren held tightly to his childhood friend, pressing his face into the small blonde's shoulder. Armin, too shocked to move, sank to the ground on his knees. Eren went down with him.<p>

"But... I thought you were dead..." Armin said with a shaky voice, staring straight ahead in disbelief.

"I thought _you_ were dead." Eren said. Armin blinked a couple times, a tear streaming down his face, and wrapped his arms tightly around his long-lost friend.

"I'm here... I'm alive..." Armin said, tightly gripping the cloth on Eren's back and burying his face in the brunette's chest.

Sasha and Connie exchanged confused glances.

"Umm... do you guys need a room or...?" Connie trailed off, not really knowing what to do.

* * *

><p>"This is so strange," Armin said with a small laugh, his eyes still wet with tears. The two now sat in Armin's room, which had turned out to be right across the hall from Eren's.<p>

Armin's room was nice. It appeared to be the same layout as Eren's, but he had decorated his. It had a couple pieces of art hanging on the wall by the door and over his bed, murals of what looked like old gears and wrenches on a copper background.

"Where do I start...?" Armin continued, holding tightly to his silver coffee mug. His hands were a bit shaky. "I guess that I should start by saying that I wasn't killed by that boulder. After I pushed you out of the way, I tried to avoid it myself, but it hit my leg. I saw that titan..." Armin bit his lip. "I saw that titan eat Mikasa, but then I blacked out from blood loss. When I woke up I was here..." Armin lifted up the left leg of his overalls. "With this."

Eren swallowed. His entire left leg was mechanic, from mid-thigh down. "Jeez, Armin... are you okay?" Eren asked, looking up at him and resisting the urge to touch it. Armin nodded and took a small sip of his tea. "I'm fine. It's a lot more functional than you'd think. But... what happened to you?" He said. Eren looked down into his lap.

"Hannes saved me. He swept me up and carried me all the way to the gate, where he threw me on a boat and sent me to Trost. The plan was to me meet on the other side, and eventually to contact my father, but I haven't seen him since. I ended up living homeless for four years, until that Hanji chick snatched me out of an alley and dragged me down here." He said. Armin stared at him, sympathy and guilt and anguish all mixed into his big, usually bright blue eyes.

"Eren, I'm so sorry... if I'd have known, I would've tried to-"

"There's no way you could've known, Armin." Eren cut him off. "I'm just glad you're alive." He said with a small smile. Armin pursed his lips and puffed his cheeks out a bit. "Damnit Eren, let me be sorry." He said. Eren chuckled.

"You haven't changed at all." He said. Armin narrowed his eyes.

"Well neither have you," he countered. Eren laughed and stood, ruffling the blonde's hair with a smile. "I missed you, man."

Armin smiled back. "I missed you too."

* * *

><p>"My name's Bertoldt."<p>

Erem gulped. Bertoldt was tall.

"And this is my partner, Reiner."

Reiner was big. Like a superhero, almost.

"Umm... nice to meet you." He said, taking Bertoldt's outstretched hand and shaking it. It was massive.

Bertoldt laughed. "Nice to meet you too, Eren."

"Yo," Reiner called from inside the machine he was working on. Eren had been reassigned (again) as an engineer's hand. Bertoldt was apparently the best in the Underground, since he was the only one who had memorized everything there is to know about machines, and was quick to serve his long-time engineer, Reiner.

But when Eren had imagined Bertoldt, he was thinking small, scrawny nerd kid. I mean, who else has the time to memorize crap like that?

But Bertoldt might as well have been a titan himself. Eren couldn't help but wonder if his ears popped whenever he sat down from the change in air pressure.

"So... I just read him blueprints and hand stuff to him when he needs it?"

"That's the basic idea, yeah."

Eren stared at the expansive collection of tools on the table, and then at the complicated blueprints. The only thing he recognized was a wrench and a hammer.

"You know, maybe I can't do this." He said, taking a step back. Bertoldt laughed and nudged him forward again. "It's simple. I'll even tell you which tools are which." He said with a kind smile. Eren gulped and nodded slowly.

"O-okay. I'll give it a go." He said. Armin cheered from the bench on the wall. "Go Eren, go!" He called with a smile and a fist pump. He had decided to tag along, since he wasn't doing anything and he wanted to see how Eren did. He also claimed that he liked to look at Reiner's muscles.

"Perfect timing." Reiner said, his voice echoing slightly off the metal interior of the machine. "Toss me a wrench, pretty please." He said. Eren nodded and handed him the wrench.

"See? Not so hard." Bertoldt smiled, leaning against the wooden pillar next to him.

"Okay, good. Now I need the hammer." Eren nodded and handed it to him, exchanging it for the wrench. This wasn't actually so bad.

"Okay, now hand me those pliers." Reiner said. Eren blinked and looked up to Bertoldt, who pointed to what looked like a pair of flattened scissors. Eren nodded and traded it for the hammer.

"Now I need you to look at the blueprints and tell me what wire it says to connect to the blue one." Eren swallowed and nodded, leaning over the table to get a good look at the blue sheet of paper.

"Umm... uh..." Eren tried to decipher the instructions, but it all just looked like scribbles to him. He looked to Bertoldt.

"Bottom left." He said. Eren turned back to the blueprints and looked to the corner Bertoldt specified, but it was just more intelligible sketches and chicken scratch.

"I-I don't know..." Eren said. He stepped back. "I'm sorry, I can't figure it out."

"That's alright, you will eventually." Bertoldt smiled, leaning over the blueprints.

"It's the green one." He told Reiner with one quick glance.

"Thanks." Reiner responded, shifting a bit so he could get to said green wire. Eren sighed.

"Do you want to try again?" Bertoldt asked, turning to Eren. Eren shook his head. "No. I'll just figure something else out. Thank you, though." He said, turning and exiting the room quickly and quietly. Bertoldt and Reiner looked to Armin, confused, but Armin didn't know what was up either.

When Armin finally caught up with Eren, he was waiting for the elevator in the dorms. Armin found him leaning against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the ground.

"Eren...!" Armin called, huffing and jogging over to him. Eren looked up, but quickly averted his eyes.

"Hey... you didn't have to leave like that," he said. Eren shook his head. "I don't think I belong here, Armin."

"What are you talking about? Of course you do." Armin replied. The elevator door opened, and Eren stepped inside. Armin followed.

"Obviously I'm no good with machines. What else is there for me here?" Eren said, jabbing the three button with his elbow as he passed it.

"Eren, look at me and tell me that I look like I'm the sort of person who would know their way around a toolbox." Armin said. Eren have him a small side glance and raised an eyebrow with slight curiosity, though he didn't want to show it.

"I didn't do well at any of those jobs either, Eren." Armin smiled a little, placing a hand on Eren's shoulder. "This place has a lot more to offer than just building and fixing machines." He said.

The elevator door opened. Eren sighed and stepped forward, not quite out of it but far enough where the door remained open.

"We'll have to see, then." He said, shrugging Armin's hand off his shoulder and walking down the dimly lit hallway to his room.

**AN: Ha, I lied. I got this posted way later than Friday. Lol I think I'll have to end up keeping it to one update a week. Don't expect updates on weekends because I really only get time to write during the week. Sorryyyyyyyyyyyy**

**Anywhore, i hope you enjoyed this (super late) chapter. I'll continue writing today so I can get you this week's by Friday. Drop a review on your way out, pretty please! (~￣▽￣)~**

**Later, losers.**

**-TRG**


	4. Bad Blood

**AN: Okay. So twice a week isn't working.**

**I'm sorryyyyy I'm just super super busyyyyy.**

**I sprained my pinkie. Oww. It hurts when I bend it, but I'm not using it as an excuse for not writing.**

**siggggggghhh just enjoy the chaptererrrrr. And to reply to Minty's question, this is the chapter that Levi's introduced in. Even though technically he was in chapter two.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Bad Blood<strong>

Eren sighed. Another day full of nothing but failures.

He had tried out designing with Krista, a short, pretty girl with soft blonde hair and big blue eyes, and Ymir, her taller, tanner partner. She had short, brown hair tugged back into a low ponytail, with thin, dark brown eyes and freckles scattered about her cheeks. Krista was pale and dainty, and was almost always smiling. Both girls were amazing artists, but sadly, Eren could barely draw a straight lines. Using a ruler.

He'd tried inventing on for size, but the only thing Eren managed to think of was 'how the hell am I even supposed to do this?' Armin, one of the brightest minds in the Underground, had tried his best to help out, but Eren had already given up.

"I'm useless." He muttered to himself as he moped his way back to his dorm. His feet dragged behind him, and his head hung with a mixture of shame and dread. What would he do? Did he really have nothing to offer this place?

He closed the door behind him and sighed. The best thing to do now was to relax and try and figure out what to do.

He flopped on his bed face down and groaned into his pillow. He opened his eyes, staring into the fuzzy blackness and exhaling heavily so his breath heated the stiff cloth. Sleep would be nice right now. He could just sleep. and dream his problems away. He could forget everything, and drift off into a world inside his mind, filled with pleasant memories and an imaginary life where the wall never fell and everything was good.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Just kidding.

Eren grunted and pushed his head farther into the pillow. Maybe they would go away if he pretended he wasn't there.

_Knock, knock, knockity-knock._ "Eren, I know you're in there. Talk to me"

Eren groaned and forced himself out of the bed, stumbling a bit on his way to the door and yanking it open grudgingly. The second he did, Armin breezed through the newly opened doorframe and kicked the door shut behind him.

Eren sighed. "Armin, can you just-"

"No, Eren." Armin cut him off, turning on his heel to face him with crossed arms. "I can't just leave you alone." He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his left, so his stance gave him a sassy, pissed off vibe.

"Four years without me has messed you up, man." Armin's tone hushed a little, more sympathetic, but still a bit annoyed. Eren leaned against the door and stared at the wall to avoid Armin's eyes.

"Yeah, well being homeless and alone and on the brink of starvation tends to do that to people." He mumbled. Armin narrowed his eyes at him and pursed his lips, but then he sighed.

"You used to be so... driven. I thought that no matter what happened, you would never lose that. But here you are, giving up on everything you do without even trying." He said. Eren swallowed and turned to his friend, a bit shocked to hear him say something like that. "W-what do you mean...?"

"I mean you didn't actually fail at anything you tried. You just gave up because you were so afraid to fail, you couldn't bear to try hard enough to succeed. That's not you, Eren." Armin continued, his voice softening a bit. Eren looked down.

"I'm sorry..." He said, his voice just barely above a whisper. Armin took a step towards him. "Don't be sorry, Eren. Be better." He said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and opening the door to leave again. Eren bit his lip grimaced, before whipping around to go after him.

"Armin-" but the hallway was empty. Eren walked down it quickly, and pushed the elevator button. When he got to the main floor, he started towards the steam room, but stopped when he heard talking coming from Erwin's office as he passed. The door was left cracked open. Eren peeked inside.

"We could assemble a team of elites, no more than ten." It was the guy from the other day, the one who broke into Eren's room. He was talking with Erwin. Eren ducked behind the wall and listened, thought he didn't know why. Instinct, he guessed.

The guy continued. "It's not even that far from the Trost district, it would only take-"

"Levi, I said no." Erwin replied sternly, but calmly. _Levi,_ Eren thought. _So that's his name._

"And you'd need someone to pilot it." Erwin continued. Eren kept listening. _Pilot what...?_

"I could pilot it." Suddenly, Eren remembered what Armin had said about him.

"You know we need you on 3DMG. You're the strongest soldier we got."

"I could ask one of the pilots."

"What kind of person do you think would possibly agree to pilot this thing?" Erwin said.

_Don't be sorry. Be better._

"I will." Eren said, stepping into Erwin's office impulsively. Erwin and Levi looked to him, a bit surprised.

Levi looked him up and down and snorted. "You? You probably couldn't even survive the airbag." He said, gesturing to Eren's stringy arms and legs. Eren's confident stance wavered a little.

"How much of our conversation did you hear, Mr. Jaeger?" Erwin asked. Eren swallowed.

"Just that you're looking for someone to pilot something. And you need to go get something not far from Trost." He said, turning to Levi. "I could help with both."

"You'd be more like a twerp I'd need to babysit than a helping hand, string bean."

"Levi," Erwin said sternly, silencing him again. He turned back to Eren. "If we gave you a year, do you think you could build up enough strength to move the dresser behind me?" Erwin asked. Eren looked at the large shelving structure and thought for a bit.

"Yes." He said finally, nodding with confidence. "I could."

Levi scoffed with disbelief. Erwin ignored him. "And are you afraid of titans?" He asked.

Eren's blood ran cold. Memories came rushing back, of ear-piercing screams. Of cruel, obscene eyes, and teeth twisted into hellish, spine-chilling grins that once sent fear frantically rushing through his entire body and consumed his mind, blocking any commands he gave to his legs no matter how loudly his mind screamed for them to run far, far away. He remembered the expression on Mikasa's face as the massive creature's mouth closed, with her inside. He remembered how his mother screamed for him, how much it must have hurt to feel her skin being sliced through, her bones crumbling between the demonic beast's teeth. But he thought about it.

_Am_ _I scared of titans?_ He thought. These memories, they struck fear into his heart. But they also struck another chord. Something else, something... something more. Almost as if just the memory of the titans ignited a small flame in the pit of his stomach. And it just kept getting bigger, welling up until Eren was filled with nothing but...

Anger.

Rage. Hatred. Fury. Resentment. Frustration. He wanted revenge. He wanted to wipe out every last one, to personally hunt down and slay each and every one of them. Loathing. Spite.

Something warm and wet trickled down his fingers. He looked down and realized that he was clenching his fist so tight, his fingernails were digging into his palms and blood was seeping out. He lifted his hand to his face and stared at it.

_Bloodthirst._

He looked up at Erwin and Levi, and took a shaky breath.

"No. Not even close."

**AN: EREN ANGRY. EREN SMASH.**

**You know, it's funny. Eren kind of is like the Incredible Hulk. He's easily angered, and when he's pissed he transforms into a big ass muscly macho man with temper control issues and bad hair. :D**

**Footnote! The whole "Don't be sorry, be better" thing is what my dad always says to me when I apologize for stuff. **

**Anywhore, I'm sorry this took so long. I have the plots for all the chapters written out already, because I really don't want to quit this story halfway, but it's so hard to figure out how I want to write each chapter sometimes. You know? No? Okay...**

**Also, do you know the band alt-J? Well, me and my dad were trying to figure out what it meant, like if it was a keyboard shortcut or what, and I finally found out what it is.**

**It's this little symbol right here ∆**

**Now I can make all these cute little faces (,˚∆˚), ಠ∆ಠ**

**ouo idk why but it made me really happy to finally figure it out. Welp. That's all, folks. Drop a review on your way out~**

**Later, losers~**

**-TRG**


	5. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

**AN: I'm sorry this took so long.**

**I was trying to write an intermission to go between the time skip but ugh it was so long and then I was getting like major writer's block and I lost motivation for it because it got boring and pointless and UGH.**

**But here I am. And I'm gonna save the intermission for a different time skip.**

**If I even finish it. Lol probably won't #sorrynotsorry**

**Anywhore please enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger<strong>

Jean skidded across the room, stopping just at the edge of the square box drawn on the floor in chalk. He lay, on his back, staring at the ceiling in a mixture of pain and embarrassment.

Eren stood across the chalk box from him, panting slightly, eyes still wide with adrenaline. Thoughts skittered about his mind at a thousand miles a minute, but he stared at Jean with a look of confidence, of superiority.

After all, he had just kicked Jean's ass.

"Way to go, String Bean!" Connie cheered from outside the makeshift sparring ring, as Marco rushed to Jean's aide. Jean grunted as Marco, snickering, attempted to lift him from his crumbled ball of shame on the ground. Eren grinned. He felt strong, he felt unstoppable.

As Eren left the fitness wing by himself, still glowing from his triumph, he thought back on the year he had lived. It was tough, at first his frail body couldn't handle even simple nutrition, much less the workout regimens required to build up the muscle he needed. He had started with eating. He ate a proper diet until he could run, and he started running every morning when he woke up and every night before he went to bed. It started small with laps up and down the hallway, and eventually laps around the steam room. Eren had never realized how big the steam room was until he scaled the outside of it.

After he was able to sprint around the steam room without feeling like his chest was going to collapse, he bumped his regimen up to weight lifting and sparring matches. He couldn't lift as much as someone like Reiner, but he had defeated him countless times in hand-to-hand combat.

Eren smiled. He was ready. He was more than ready. He stood outside of Erwin's office, and knocked. No answer. He slowly opened the door, but the room was empty. He pursed his lips. Erwin was supposed to be there, so where was he?

"What are you doing?"

Eren whipped around, shutting the door quickly and pressing his back against it self-conciously. Levi stood there, arms crossed, with an unblinking stare that made all of Eren's confidence shrivel up and cower in the back of his mind.

"L-Levi..." He stuttered nervously, the raven-haired man's glare causing him to become extremely self conscious. "I-I was just seeing if Erwin was here..."

"He's not." Levi said, shifting his weight from one hip to the other. Eren swallowed and looked down, feeling like he should leave but not really wanting to.

"You want to see if you can move the bookcase." Levi said after a bit of silence. Eren blushed slightly and nodded, avoiding any awkward eye contact. What was with this guy? He made Eren feel so anxious, like if he did or said anything Levi didn't like then he would lose a limb.

"You've grown." Levi walked up to him, looking him up and down with a cold, unchanging expression. Eren stiffened, watching closely as Levi reached towards his wrist and lifted it, examining the muscle he had developed in the past year.

"O-oi, lemme go..." Eren mumbled, a bit alarmed by the sudden man-handling. Levi ignored him and gripped his arm a bit tighter. "Go in." He said, shoving him towards the door to Erwin's office and releasing his arm. Eren swallowed and fumbled for the handle. He pushed it open once he had firmly wrapped his shaky hand around it, and Levi brushed past him, crouching by the bookcase and examining something on the bottom of the right side. Eren watched, but the room was dark. The only light was peering through the crack in the doorway, so Eren couldn't see exactly what he was looking at. But then Levi flipped a switch on the gas lamp sitting on Erwin's desk, and was illuminated by the steady, flickering light inside it.

"Lift your arms." Levi commanded. Eren frowned, starting to get a bit irritated. "Why should I?" He said, crossing his arms instead.

"Because I said so." Levi said sternly.

"Well what authority do you have over me?" Eren countered. Though Levi's expression didn't change, somehow the air in the room grew thicker, like his aura had darkened. He was pissed.

Before Eren had time to react, Levi had shoved Eren against the closest wall by a hand on the teenager's stomach, and had gotten so close that Eren had to tilt his chin up so that his nose wasn't rubbing against Levi's. Levi's hand swept up Eren's chest, dragging the thin white fabric of Eren's shirt up with it and balling it up at his chin, to hold him still. Eren grunted and squirmed, trying to break free from the shorter man's grasp, but Levi's hand didn't move an inch with Eren's frantic movements. It made Eren feel weak, helpless. Like all the work he did over the past year had all been in vain.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Let me _go_!" Eren shouted, grabbing Levi's hand and trying to pry it off of him. Though Levi was shorter than him, he held Eren in a way that put them chin to chin, and Levi was close. Too close. Eren could feel him exhaling through his nose, could see the little gold shimmers in his eyes if he looked hard enough. Could smell the faint essence of what Eren identified as the smell of rain, though before now he had never thought rain to have a scent at all. But if it did, he imagined it would smell something like that.

"I don't tolerate brats, Jaeger." He spat Eren's last name like it took a bitter taste as it rolled off his tongue. Eren hesitated, ceasing his struggling to look Levi in the eye. It was the same expression he always wore, but somehow it was different. Usually it appeared that Levi was unfocused, disinterested. But now, he was directly fixated on Eren, like it was the only thing on his mind. Like Eren was the only thing happening right now, like nothing else mattered. Somehow, Eren liked that feeling. But he hated it at the same time.

Levi's hand brushed against Eren's bare stomach, causing him to shiver and tense up. "Wh-what are you doing...?" Eren mumbled, eyes widening. Was Levi... feeling him up? Was this what his intention had been all along, to do unmentionable things to him in secret?

"You've got abs." Levi said, rubbing Eren's stomach lightly and smirking a bit. "You've done well for just a year in training. How much can you bench now, one-ten? One-twenty?"

"L-let me go..." Eren's cheeks were bright red. He pushed himself further into the wall, an attempted retreat from Levi's touch. But he didn't get very far away, and Levi's hand stayed where it was.

"Answer me." Levi said sternly, tightening his grip on Eren's shirt and pushing his hand farther up until it was against his neck, obstructing his breathing. Eren grunted and swallowed. "T-two..." He mumbled softly.

"What was that?" Levi's hand cut off more of his breath.

"280!" Eren choked out, louder this time. Levi's smirk widened a bit.

"Tch. Impressive. You've worked hard this past year, haven't you?" Levi dropped Eren back to the ground. Eren gasped for breath, slumping to the ground on his knees and rubbing his throat.

"You're insane..." Eren breathed, pushing himself off the ground. Levi turned back to him and smiled.

"I might be. On your feet, soldier." He said. Eren grunted and forced his legs to stand, though he just wanted to lay there.

"If you're really new and improved, you'll be able to move this bookcase. That was the deal, right?" Levi jerked his chin towards said bookcase, crossing his arms. Eren was pissed off now. He wanted to send Levi flying, show him that he really was new and improved. But he gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and marched past Levi so close that if Levi hadn't dodged him, Eren would have knocked him clean over. Levi watched closely, eyes on the back of the brunette's shoulders.

Eren stood next to the bookcase now. He rubbed his hands together, and placed them on the smooth wooden outside of it, applying the slightest amount of pressure. Of course, it didn't move. But Eren had known it wouldn't. Slowly, he continued to add pressure until his muscles were burning and he found himself holding his breath to keep his torso from trembling.

"What, too heavy?" Levi teased, leaning against Erwin's desk. Eren put all his weight on the bookcase, but it didn't budge. He pushed, he pulled. But it was almost like it was glued to the floor.

"What the hell?" Eren said, banging his fist against it in frustration. He had worked so hard, done so much. He had been sure he would be able to do it. But he had been wrong.

"Too bad, so sad." Levi turned to leave, hands in pockets. Eren watched, and then he snapped. His frustration seared through his veins, burned in his chest. He cried out in angst, and kicked the stupid bookcase as hard as he physically could.

And it shifted a bit to the left.

Levi's eyes widened and he whipped around quickly, shocked. Eren stood there, panting, his rage slowly fading into... a smile. He smiled at Levi. Levi couldn't tear his eyes away from the bottom of the bookcase.

"H-how did you...?" Levi stared at the scratch marks on the floor from where the bookcase had slid from it's previous spot. Eren fist pumped.

"I did it!" He cried. "I moved it, you saw me right? I can pilot your thing now!" Eren grinned, but Levi staggered back.

"No, that's impossible... I bolted it to the floor..." Levi said, looking back at Eren. Eren's smile faded a bit.

"You what...?"

"I used four-inch tiger bolts* to secure that thing to the ground. And you just... you just..."

Eren looked, his eyes widening a bit as well. He thought about it, and then smiled even wider.

"I'm a freaking badass!" He fist pumped.

**AN: mmmmm erne smahs**

**That's gonna be his power move. Eren Smash. I'm gonna make it so badass tho. Ugh I can't wait to get to the action part of the story ∆**

**Also, from now on, if you see this symbol * in the story, it means that I mentioned a device. I'll say the inventor of said device down here in le author's notes**

*** Four-inch tiger bolts - Invented by Thomas Wagner, in 1917. Massive bolts (4 inches in diameter) that are pretty much indestructible. Also come in 3 inch, 5 inch, and 6 inch sizes.**

**Welp, that's all for now, folks. Drop a review on your way out, pretty please~~**

**Later, losers~**

**-TRG**


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